EPA to become world-class regulator – Executive Director

…$40M to be spent for oil spill response, rig inspections training

The Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has seen significant growth over the past three years, and is currently on the route of becoming a world class regulator. This is according to Executive Director of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram, who recently highlighted some of the initiatives being undertaken by the organisation to better enhance its services.

Delivering remarks on a recent edition of the Energy Perspectives, Parsram highlighted the significant strides the agency has been making to improve its capacity, he noted that the agency has seen significant growth over the past years.
“In the past three years, whilst we were established in 1996, we’ve grown significantly, but particularly in the last four to five years or three years going forward. And so, when we talk about growth, I can mention that from 2019, we were a staff complement of 80, roughly. As of today, we are 172 and growing. And this cadre of staff, they cover a range of engineers, biologists, chemists, lawyers, as well, communication specialists, and all in all, all of this supports the work of the agency,” he stated.
Parsram noted that the EPA has recently finalised its strategic plan for 2030, and this plan over the next five years will see several investments being made to transform the EPA into a world class regulator.
“We have actually just completed our strategic plan for 2030 over the next five years. And we want to become a world-class environmental regulator that ensures the protection of the environment, the safety of human health, as well as ensuring a low-carbon development pathway. And there are several goals that we want to do. It’s investing in our people, investing in science and technology, investing in strengthening permits, our authorisation process, taking EPA to the ground, to people, to deal with issues. Because it’s not just oil and gas. It’s small issues in communities, and we want to engage communities,” he posited.
In this regard, Parsram noted with the aim of making the EPA a world class regulator, funds are being deployed to leverage technology as well as upskill its talent pool. According to Parasram, the government investment of $100 million in the 2022-2023 budget has contributed significantly towards this initiative as such he highlighted that in the past year some $50 million has been invested to ensure the EPA is equipped with skilled workers to effectively carry out its duties. “And so we have invested in the past year roughly about $40- $50 million in previous years. This year, we have $40 million for specific training related to oil spill response, for rig inspections, or FPS inspections. So we’re investing that money, and of course, that’s from central government, to ensure that we can have the adequate cadre of skilled and appropriate staff to execute our functions,” he stated.
Water quality sensor
Additionally, he noted that the EPA has deployed its third remote water quality sensor, these sensors are currently operating in the areas of Demerara, Bartica and Saxacalli. These sensors measure the water quality or measure pollutants in water and provides real time data on parameters such as water turbidity, temperature and pH. Additionally, he said that there are sensors on Guyana’s three FPSOs—Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity.
As part of the operator’s responsibility, he said, ExxonMobil and its partners must measure, for example, the concentration of oil in produced water that is being discharged.
Parsram said too that ExxonMobil is required to treat the water in alignment with World Bank standards before it is discharged. These standards, he said, outline that there can only be 49 milligrams per day or an average of 29 milligrams of oil per litre per month.
“So, they have these sensors that measure and provide us with that feed. We have a live platform at the EPA where we can see, by the minute, the concentration of oil in produced water,” He noted that these sensors also allow the regulator to monitor how much gas is flared too. “As you know, Guyana prohibits routine flaring…if there is an upset condition and you are testing out a new equipment, you are allowed to flare within a certain limit and if you go beyond, then a flaring fee of US$50 per tonne of every carbon emitted is charged,” he said.
The agency has also invested in satellite technology and is currently equipped with NASA worldview. This allows the agency to see flare or heat sensors globally, however it is primarily use to detect flaring at offshore FPSOs. This technology allows the EPA to see when these vessels are flaring and they also report amount of gas flared. Similarly, the agency has been equipped with Maxar Technologies which is a global powerhouse in satellite imagery. This gives the EPA the power to task satellites in cases such as oil spills to pass over the affected area and provide a bird’s-eye view of the parameters. This allows the EPA to then assess and determine using their formula the volume spilled and the trajectory.